You've Got a Friend
by Kitsune Moonstar
Summary: AU.  Nanao finds that being her friend's maid of honor perhaps brings a change in her relationship with the best man.  That is if she doesn't kill him before the wedding.


Author's note: I do not own Bleach or its characters. This is AU.

* * *

><p><strong>You've Got a Friend<strong>

The autumn day was pleasantly warm, and their table outside the little café was perfectly placed for the pair of women to enjoy the sunshine without being blinded by it. None of that mattered at the moment. Had her former college roommate really just asked her that?

Nanao blinked. "Are you sure?"

Retsu Unohana nodded. "I know you won't let anything go wrong, and you're the best person to be at my right hand in this."

"But shouldn't someone like Isane be your maid of honor?"

The older woman waved aside Nanao's protests. "She's got enough on her plate with starting her residency. She's not going to be offended. Please, Nanao?"

"All right." Nanao reached for her cup of tea. "How far have you and Jyuushiro gotten with the wedding planning?"

Her friend laughed. "Well, we've got a location, and I have my dress. We've also picked a date as well. It won't be until the spring thanks to our schedules. It's really not going to be that large of a wedding though. Neither Jyuu nor I wanted a bunch of strangers or acquaintances there just so we had more guests. It'll just be his family, mine, and our friends. You, Isane, and Miyako are my attendants. Shunsui's going to be the best man, and Kaien and Seinosuke are the groomsmen."

"You're joking," Nanao sighed; she should have known that there would be a catch to this. As much as she admired and respected Shunsui Kyoraku, the man drove her absolutely crazy most of the time. He was in many ways her complete opposite, and he seemed to delight in irritating her. And in flirting with her. Nanao rather doubted that he was actually interested in her.

"He's Jyuushiro's best friend," Retsu offered sympathetically. "I know you two don't exactly get along, but you're not going to have to spend that much time with him. Besides, Shunsui promised to behave for the wedding."

"Don't worry about it," Nanao told her friend. "Now, what do you need me to do?"

Retsu had been one of her closest friends since they had met in college, and she and Jyuushiro made a lovely couple together. Nanao could put up Jyuushiro's best friend in order to help them have the wedding they wanted. Besides, the few times when Shunsui Kyoraku had managed not to irritate her or hit on her, they had turned out to have quite a bit in common and got along quite well. She could survive this.

* * *

><p>Being the maid of honor had turned out to be less work than Nanao had anticipated. It helped that Retsu was pretty well organized with her wedding planning and didn't want one of those monstrous, complicated weddings. Simplicity really was in many ways the theme of the wedding. However, there was work to be done. Nanao was spending Saturday helping Retsu decided on bridesmaid dresses, and there was still the bridal shower to be planned. Given the floral theme of the wedding, a high tea seemed appropriate for the shower. It would easy enough to organize at one of the little tea shops that Retsu liked to frequent, and Nanao also had to plan the hen party, and she wasn't quite sure she had any ideas for that.<p>

However, at the moment Nanao was preoccupied with finding both a wedding gift for Retsu and Jyuushiro as well as finding the bakery Retsu had read about in a magazine. It was supposed to be in this neighborhood, and for some reason, Nanao was having trouble finding the address she had written down in her normally well organized purse. She was supposed meet with the bakery's manager in order to set up a tasting and to get an idea about what a cake might cost for Retsu. She was busy enough searching through her purse for the piece of paper that had that address on it that she walked right into someone.

"I'm sorry." Nanao looked up.

"That's all right, sweetheart." Shunsui Kyoraku grinned down at her.

Nanao stifled the urge to rake a hand through her hair. "Hello, Mr. Kyoraku. Can I help you?"

"Well, if you know where Charm City Cakes is, that would help. Jyuu didn't exactly give great directions."

Nanao sighed. She should have expected something like this. Neither Retsu nor Jyuushiro could resist matchmaking. Why they thought it would work on the sixteenth try was beyond her.

"I have the address somewhere in my purse." She turned her attention back to sifting through the contents of her purse.

"Great. I wanted to talk to you anyway."

Nanao shot him a glance, raising an eyebrow at him. "About what?"

"I wanted to talk to you about the bachelor party."

"I see." She also rather doubted that she wanted to hear about this. At least she had found the address of the bakery. "We're looking for 4813 Carlton St. What about the bachelor party?"

The man fidgeted, making Nanao frown slightly.

"Well, you know that Jyuu's not really into the whole drinking and debauchery thing, and that it probably wouldn't be good for his health anyway, but the guys will give him a really hard time if he doesn't have one of those parties, so can you just act like you're furious at me for throwing one, and I'll just get Kaien and Seinosuke roaring drunk, and then Jyuu and I can escape to have a nice quiet private party, and no one will know better."

She didn't think he had breathed once during that sentence. Still, it was a fairly reasonable request. And it was definitely a better idea that actually having a wild bachelor party. Especially since Jyuushiro probably wouldn't enjoy one of those anyway. Nanao doubted it would be too hard for her to act irritated with the man, though admittedly, this would be far more useful than the normal shenanigans he pulled. She would never forget the time she'd had to bail him and Jyuushiro out of jail when they were both dressed in drag.

"I think I can manage that."

Shunsui beamed at her. "Perfect. Now let's find that cake."

With a gallant gesture, he offered her his arm. And while Nanao did roll her eyes at him, she also took it.

* * *

><p>Talking on the phone and juggling multiple shopping bags was a skill Nanao had never really mastered. However, today was her only day off this week, and with the wedding only a month away, she had plenty to do. According to her mental checklist, Nanao still had to pick up the shoes that were being dyed to match the bridesmaids' dresses, drop off a check at the florist, collect the order of custom bottles of bubbles for the reception, and see if she could find earrings that went with the bridesmaids' dresses. And she also needed to eat lunch at some point.<p>

"Don't worry, Ayame. I'll be back at work tomorrow. I'm sure you can handle the after school story time today." Nanao shifted, trying to get the cell phone tucked between her ear and her shoulder in a more comfortable position. "No, you don't need to get anything ready for my toddler story time tomorrow. The picture books for the main display are all on my desk. You don't need to work on the display unless you have a lot of free time on your hands. Look, Ayame, I really have to go now. Yes, I remember there's a staff meeting tomorrow morning. No-"

Nanao stumbled over the curb and nearly crashed into one of the other pedestrians.

"I'm sorry-"

She froze when she looked up. Nanao had been studiously avoiding Kaname Tousen since he had nearly destroyed her life. He had been a T.A. when she was doing her Masters of Library Science, and over the course of a term the man had proceed to gain her trust and steal her research for her thesis. Nanao hadn't known what was going on until she had been called up in front an academic board to be accused of plagiarism. Things had gotten sorted out in the end, but it had taken nearly two terms, and Nanao had been academic probation for both of them, and the whole situation had given her an undeserved reputation that had followed her until she had graduated. And Tousen had been long gone by then. But the damage he'd done to her had lasted far beyond his absence from her life.

"Well, if it isn't little miss library student. Did you ever manage to get your degree or did they throw you out finally?"

Nanao found that she didn't know how to respond. She had never expected to see Tousen again, and she found her tongue was as frozen as the rest of her. She didn't know what she wanted to say. If she wanted to yell at him or just ignore him or flaunt her success in his face. Mostly, she had tried not to think about him and move on with her life. And now here he was standing in front of her.

"Nanao-chan! There you are."

For the first time, Kyoraku's use of that nickname didn't immediately annoy her. Before she knew what was going on Shunsui had relieved her of the bulk of her bags, slipping an arm around her waist. Nanao shook herself free of her frozen state. She had no idea what he was doing here, but she wasn't going to complain.

"Shunsui?"

He grinned at her, though it didn't quite reach his eyes. "Retsu sent me to help with your errands. She suggested I could carry things. How about we get lunch first?"

She nodded. Any excuse to get away from Tousen was appreciated. And with a sudden flash of insight, Nanao knew how she was going to deal with the man. She wasn't going to give him the satisfaction of bothering her.

"That was next on my list."

She glanced at Tousen as Shunsui led her away; she couldn't say it was nice seeing him again, but seeing him again hadn't turned her into a hysterical crying mess or really done anything except give her a momentary shock. He didn't have power over her anymore. She had moved on with her life, and Tousen really wasn't anything except a regrettable footnote.

"Are you all right, Nanao?" Shunsui asked her as soon as they were out of earshot, his tone worried.

"I am." She let out a deep breath. It surprised her, but it was true. After those first few moments of horror and panic, she found she really was. Though she still appreciated the rescue. "Lunch?"

He gave her a long look then gave her a rueful smile. "All right. I'm stuck carrying your bags all afternoon, aren't I?"

Nanao just smiled.

* * *

><p>There were days when her friends completely baffled her. Today was definitely one of them. Nanao was perched on the sidelines watching as Retsu and Jyuushiro listened to their instructor. Beside her, Shunsui shook his head.<p>

"So, tell me again why they're doing this?"

"Retsu and Jyuushiro wanted to be able to dance a waltz at their wedding."

"Is there a reason they didn't pick a sane dance teacher?"

Nanao shrugged. "I think she's the cousin of someone at the hospital that Retsu didn't want to offend."

"I see. And we're here why?"

"Moral support and entertainment value," she answered promptly.

Nanao caught his eyes, and suddenly they were both holding back laughter. The dance instructor glanced over at them, and Nanao tried to keep her face blank. The woman appeared to be a nightmare to work with. In fact, Nanao would say that Retsu and Jyuushiro had gotten worse at dancing in the space of the last thirty minutes. Of course, the only reason that Nanao and Shunsui were stuck out there with their friends was the fact that both of them already knew how to ballroom dance. Shunsui blamed being from a society family, Nanao would admit it had been the only part of P.E. class that she had liked. So instead of suffering through Madame Rochefort's instruction, they got to watch.

It was rather amusing, though Nanao was sure that it was also frustrating for the happy couple. Still, it wasn't like the situation was unsalvageable. Nanao was fairly certain that even if Made Rochefort could not teach the pair to dance, she and Shunsui could probably do so. Or find someone competent to do the job.

"So, what do you say? If that by the end of this, neither of them can dance any better, you'll go out to dinner with me?" Shunsui grinned at her.

"I don't take sucker bets."

"Oh, Nanao-chan, you're always ruining my fun. How about I-"

Madame Rochefort cleared her throat interrupting them. Hands on her hips, the woman looked rather put out with the two of them.

"If you two are not going to do anything helpful, you can at least be quiet. My students don't need any distractions from learning the art of dancing."

Nanao refrained from commenting that right now it looked like rather bad modern art. The woman just continued.

"I rather doubt that either of you even care about such art let alone have the ability to perform it, but others do, and they do not need uneducated fools interrupting their lesson."

Shunsui arched an eyebrow at the woman before turning to Nanao. "I believe that was a challenge, precious."

The next thing Nanao knew Shunsui had replaced Madame Rochefort's ipod with his own and was holding out a hand to her. Nanao took it, and as the music began, she followed Shunsui into the steps of the waltz. Dancing came as naturally as breathing to Nanao, and Shunsui was an excellent partner. And the look on Madame Rochefort's face was definitely worth it.

* * *

><p>Nanao could admit that she was hiding. The rehearsal dinner was in full swing, and she was avoiding returning to the table. For some reason, Isane, Miyako, and Rangiku (the musical soloist for the wedding) had decided that teasing Nanao was a great way to spend the evening. So Nanao had taken any excuse she could come up with in order to get a break. Her current one was making sure that the flowers for the reception tables (which had arrived that afternoon) were put away properly.<p>

It was much more peaceful in the kitchen of the hall where the reception would be held. Nanao leaned against one of the counters and sighed. She should have snagged one of the cartons of Chinese food and brought it with her when she made her escape. At least then she would manage to get part of her meal in peace. It was a rather informal dinner, even if it was being held at the same hall as the reception. What it had amounted to was one very large order of take out Chinese. She smoothed the folds of her rose colored dress. Shunsui had teased her when she arrived about wearing his favorite color. And Nanao had to admit that she had thought of him when she'd pulled it out of the closet.

The man had proved to be more help with the wedding than Nanao had expected. He had also toned down his teasing quite a bit. Of he still teased her, but he also seemed to exactly when to back off now as well. And it was nice that not every single conversation they had now consisted of him flirting with her and her scolding him. Of course, Retsu and Jyuushiro still seemed to be throwing the two of them together whenever possible. The wonders of matchmaking friends never ceased to amaze Nanao. It was like they thought that if they stuck the two of them together enough, something would happen. Then again, both the bride and groom were hopeless romantics.

"Nanao-chan?" Shunsui appeared in the doorway. "So this is where you're hiding. Retsu was beginning to worry about you. You're missing dinner. At this rate, there won't be much left for you to eat."

She shrugged. "There are a few more things that I need to get done."

And she didn't think going back out there would lead to anything besides her own embarrassment.

The man rolled his eyes at her answer. "Why am I not surprised? You always have 'a few more things to get done', Nanao. That's why I brought you this."

He held out a carton and a pair of chopsticks. Nanao blinked as she took it, a little surprised to that it was full of fried wantons with sweet and sour sauce. They were her favorite, though she wasn't sure if Shunsui had known that.

"Thank you."

"You're welcome, precious. Rangiku and Miyako have turned on Isane at this point though I can't guarantee that they'll leave you alone if you come back."

She nibbled at a wanton. "Well, that's an incentive to rejoin the party."

He laughed and stole a wanton out of the box. "True enough. But you should come back anyway. We started recounting the saga of Retsu and Jyuu, and you need to be there to tell the part about the proposal of doom."

Nanao smiled; she had been the only witness to the time when Retsu had been proposed to by someone else and in front of Jyuushiro. It had not gone well. For anyone.

Shunsui offered her his arm. "Come on. I'll even tell the story about the lengths Jyuu went to in order to get Retsu's phone number the first time."

Nanao laughed and took his arm.

* * *

><p>Nanao took a deep breath and tried to relax. Everything was running smoothly so far. Miyako was putting the finishing touches on Retsu's hair while Isane wrangled the flower girl and the ring bearer. Nanao just needed to make sure that the guys were ready. The wedding was supposed to start in about fifteen minutes. She only hoped that the rest of the wedding would go as smoothly. Nanao wasn't sure why she was so paranoid about something going wrong, but the feeling that something was going to happen kept niggling at the back of her mind.<p>

She slipped into the room designated for the groom and his attendants, and found the place in rather controlled chaos. The guys were all dressed, but it seemed like at least half of them were fighting with their ties. Kaien was fine, but then Miyako had probably done his for him, and Jyuushiro never had any trouble with this sort of thing. With a sigh and a shake of her head, Nanao headed over to Seinosuke to fix his tie. Then she turned to Shunsui. She raised an eyebrow at his pale pink tie. Unlike the rest of the men, it didn't match the pale blue of the bridesmaid dresses.

"What?" He asked. "Do you think that Jyuu would be so cruel as to make me forgo my trademark color?"

Nanao just shook her head as she tied his tie. "Do you still have the rings?

Shunsui patted his pocket. "The rings are safe with me."

"I need Jyuushiro's."

He grinned at her. "I don't think it will fit you, sweetheart."

She just glared at him, and Shunsui produced the thick gold band from his breast pocket. Nanao slipped it onto her thumb (it was the finger the ring would fit on) and gave Shunsui a serious look.

"You all need to be in place in ten minutes. Do you think you can manage that?"

"Not to fret, Nanao-chan. Jyuu will be there."

The wedding itself went perfectly. Retsu was a vision in her silver-grey gown with her dark curls and the blue and purple of the hydrangeas in her hair and her bouquet. The ceremony was simple and elegant like the couple it was for. Nanao had a brief moment of panic when it felt like the ring was stuck on her thumb, but it came off easily a moment later, and she handed it over to the bride. Shunsui had winked at her when he handed Jyuushiro the ring for Retsu.

Before long they were processing down the aisle, and it was off to the hall next door for the reception. Nanao's maid of honor speech went off without a hitch, even if it wasn't as funny as Shunsui's. Retsu and Jyuushiro made a lovely picture out on the dance floor. Once their first dance was finished, the dance floor quickly filled up. Nanao was content to sit and watch for the most part, but Shunsui demanded that she dance with him at least once. Nanao couldn't say that she minded. Then it was time to cut the cake and prepare for the final two events of the reception: the bouquet toss and the garter toss.

Nanao helped round up the women for the bouquet toss and then hung back, keeping at the edge of the group. She wasn't really paying attention to what was going on, making a mental list of the duties she still had left this evening. She caught what was tossed at her instinctively, and then Nanao bothered to look at what it was.

Her arms were full of hydrangeas. The bouquet had landed right in her hands. Nanao let Isane lead her to the chair set up for the catcher of the bouquet as the garter toss began. She was still in shock when the garter practically hit Shunsui in the face. Retsu and Jyuushiro shared conspiratorial smiles. Shunsui twirled the garter around his finger. Nanao just wrinkled her nose at him. He grinned at her then kissed her nose before kneeling down in front of her chair. Shunsui slid the garter up her slender leg. Nanao knew she had to be blushing furiously.

"I guess we're next, Nanao-chan. I knew I'd convince you to marry me eventually."

She couldn't help it. She hit him with the bouquet, unaware of the camera going off at that moment. The scene was immortalized in the wedding pictures. A year and a half later, they used it on their engagement announcement.


End file.
